whats more versatile tele HS or SH

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leonard d rock

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whats more versatile pickup combo for tele? Humbucker Bridge, single neck or single bridge, Humbucker neck. for rock, blues, Praise and Worship, no country hence the trad tele bridge sc is not necessary. Thanks
 

AlexEP

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Imho a Tele S/S with a 4-position blade (bridge, neck+bridge serial, neck+bridge parallel, neck) as I want to do in mine ;)
 

Jough

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The tele bridge pu and neck hb have been a staple sound for years. If you're playing a tele, the bridge pu is essential.
 

boris bubbanov

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Imho a Tele S/S with a 4-position blade (bridge, neck+bridge serial, neck+bridge parallel, neck) as I want to do in mine ;)

+1

The Thesis that once you throw out Country music (define country any way you want), then you can ditch the traditional Tele single coil bridge arrangement

is very weird.

You give so much away doing that, and you IMO just never get very much in exchange for that mistake.

Just run that bridge single coil in series with the neck or one coil from the neck, or stack the bridge pickup and have it splittable or tappable.

And besides, given the fact that most of what the average American calls country doesn't even seem to use Teles any more, I think trying to segregate Country music from other types is futile; not useful.

A while back I bought six of these very cheap,

98FEB192011002.jpg


modded them all sorts of ways, different brands of pickups, different bridges. I like messing around on them, practicing on them but when it comes to playing real songs on them, they're a PITA.
 

Twang Tone

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IMHO, Leo got it right first time. SS not HS or SH. Add a 4-way switch to SS and that will cover most music styles.

Thanks,
 

BrianNY

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I'll go with Humbucker in the bridge and single in the neck. Actually I don't care what's in the bridge, I just love the sound of singles in the neck.
 

H. Mac

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The older I get, the more I appreciate the versatility of the traditional Tele single coil pickups. Even my esquire/partscaster is really versatile.

A lot of players like humbuckers, and that's fine. But for me, regardless of whether it's blues, rock, worship, country, classical or whatever, it will sound just fine on a Tele.
 

Diagoras

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Which combo is more versatile? I'd say a humbucker in the bridge and single coil in the neck.

Some will say it is heresy to go with anything other than a single coil in the Tele bridge position, but I could say the same thing about the Tele neck pickup sound, one of my favorite all-time pickup sounds (and a million times more appealing to me than twang). The OP mentioned that he doesn't need the typical Tele bridge twang sound anyway, and thus it makes more sense to me to keep the awesome single coil Tele neck sound.

Another way of putting it is this: a humbucker in the bridge is probably going to be a lot more versatile than a humbucker in the neck. A bridge humbucker can easily do everything from jazz tones to heavy metal tones, and if you wire it with the option to split the coil then you can get a single coil bridge sound too (and you can combine this in parallel with the neck for a good Tele middle position sound). I don't find neck humbuckers to be anywhere near that versatile, and given how balanced and well-rounded single coil neck pickups can sound, I see no reason whatsoever to go with a humbucker in the neck, given the OP's needs.
 

boris bubbanov

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Which combo is more versatile? I'd say a humbucker in the bridge and single coil in the neck.

Some will say it is heresy to go with anything other than a single coil in the Tele bridge position, but I could say the same thing about the Tele neck pickup sound, one of my favorite all-time pickup sounds (and a million times more appealing to me than twang). The OP mentioned that he doesn't need the typical Tele bridge twang sound anyway, and thus it makes more sense to me to keep the awesome single coil Tele neck sound.

Another way of putting it is this: a humbucker in the bridge is probably going to be a lot more versatile than a humbucker in the neck. A bridge humbucker can easily do everything from jazz tones to heavy metal tones, and if you wire it with the option to split the coil then you can get a single coil bridge sound too (and you can combine this in parallel with the neck for a good Tele middle position sound). I don't find neck humbuckers to be anywhere near that versatile, and given how balanced and well-rounded single coil neck pickups can sound, I see no reason whatsoever to go with a humbucker in the neck, given the OP's needs.

Very well presented argument.

You have convinced me, the pickup in the neck spot has GOT to be single coil.

Well, there you have it then:

Single coil in the neck, and single coil in the bridge. I guess we're gonna have to put any HB between the 2 of them or leave it out of the guitar.

Hugh Cornwell Telecaster, anyone??

:D:D
 

telex76

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A Tele without a single coil in the bridge, might as well be something else.
 

Diagoras

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Very well presented argument.

You have convinced me, the pickup in the neck spot has GOT to be single coil.

Well, there you have it then:

Single coil in the neck, and single coil in the bridge. I guess we're gonna have to put any HB between the 2 of them or leave it out of the guitar.

Hugh Cornwell Telecaster, anyone??

:D:D

Yeah, I've seen those, but never played one. It looks tempting to try out someday, just for fun. Who knows, I might just love it.
 

leonard d rock

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thanks for the replies fellas, i'm going to wire up 1 t-style with HS combo and use it probably for three months in all my gigs. it currently is HH, but i dont really find much use for the neck H, since it seems too dark to have a les paul type sound even if its wired to the volume put with no tone. my most used position is the middle, and the bridge is for lead work.
boris, thats a pretty tele. why do you say its PITA to play real songs on it?
 

Shredhed

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A Tele without a single coil in the bridge, might as well be something else.

Couldn't agree more. I mean why have a tele if its going to be like your other (insert guitar brand/type).

I'm a metal head from the 80s. But I have a tele bc I want what a tele does.
 

cocoboudin

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The older I get, the more I appreciate the versatility of the traditional Tele single coil pickups. Even my esquire/partscaster is really versatile.

A lot of players like humbuckers, and that's fine. But for me, regardless of whether it's blues, rock, worship, country, classical or whatever, it will sound just fine on a Tele.

I have to agree on that, i do have few Strats, Teles and a SG(humbuckers). I found them all versatile but my esquire(Xaviere XV-820)is my main player. When you get the right amp whit the right guitar you got yourself a winner. Of course i talk for myself and it's my preference and for some other's it's something else and it's ok. Cocoboudin
 

joeford

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A while back I bought six of these very cheap,

98FEB192011002.jpg


modded them all sorts of ways, different brands of pickups, different bridges. I like messing around on them, practicing on them but when it comes to playing real songs on them, they're a PITA.

that looks oddly like my first guitar. it had a different bridge and it had the gold font squier logo. body was the cheapest thing ever made and you could dent it just by pressing on it. all things considered, not a bad first guitar by any means though. how much did you pay for 6 of them and where on earth did you find a lot like that?!

A Tele without a single coil in the bridge, might as well be something else.

why do people always say that? to me, if one pickup defines a tele, it's the neck pickup. that's the only place you'll get that pickup... in a tele. the tele bridge pickup is interchangeable with any number of fender's offerings... and hardly defines the essence of a tele. if you're talking about the actual bridge, maybe... but not the bridge pickup
 
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